Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Truly Capitalist Things

[R Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

It is certainly reasonable that a cohousing community would consider and adopt 
ownership models that keep at least some future unit sales “below market”, as a 
way of promoting continued affordability and diversity.  Even so, there are 
some real challenges to making this work …
     (1) For many or most households, home equity appreciation is an important 
part of their retirement.  This is not merely a cultural predilection, but also 
an economic reality.  It should be no surprise if many households remain wary 
of programs that limit home re-sale value.
     (2) Keeping re-sale costs low has the effect of transferring value from 
current occupants to future occupants who may never even be met.  As resistance 
to carbon emissions reduction and escalating national deficit spending 
illustrate, Americans are not good at compromising on benefits today in favor 
of future benefits to be enjoyed by others.  In this, they are hardly alone.

Thanks,
RPD

> On Oct 18, 2015, at 7:14 PM, David Mandel <dlmandel [at] gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> There's no reason cohousing communities could not be organized as limited
> equity co-ops, in which members own equal undivided shares of the whole
> project with a right to occupy their units; or with community land trusts
> owning the land. Either way, greater affordability can be assured
> permanently -- with different variations on the themes dictating the
> degree. The tradeoff is to divorce, in part or fully, actual housing from
> speculative investment, apparently a cultural obstacle for most cohousing
> communities so far thanks to our psychological conditioning and class
> identities. It would be a very good thing in my view, however. Having a
> decent, safe roof over one's head is a human right and shouldn't be
> commodified for profit. Of course that applies to many other things that
> are also privatized in our society. More power to any millenials and any of
> us oldsters who aspire to change this.
> David L. Mandel, Southside Park Coho, Sacramento